School vs school · figures from each school’s own report
Wharton or Chicago Booth
Wharton costs $402,342 with the salary given up and pays back in 3.9 years; Chicago Booth costs $386,014 and pays back in 4.1 years.
Highest ten-year value for you
Wharton
NPV $312,208 · payback 3.9 years
| Wharton | Chicago Booth | |
|---|---|---|
| Program length | 21 months | 21 months |
| Tuition and fees | $186,016 | $186,256 |
| Living budget | $84,866 | $72,258 |
| Total cost for you | $402,342 | $386,014 |
| Hired within three months | 87% | 87.8% |
| Salary reported | $185,000 | $175,000 |
| Kind of figure | median base salary | median base salary |
| Payback after graduation | 3.9 years | 4.1 years |
| 10-year NPV | $312,208 | $260,413 |
* school-wide salary: no figure published for this goal. US dollars at the ECB rate of the last update. Method.
Built by Radif Partners · figures checked · Method · Editorial policy
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and The University of Chicago Booth School of Business are the two American schools most often weighed for a finance career, and on cost they are close. Wharton charges $175,940 of tuition and $10,076 of fees over two years with a living budget of $84,866; Chicago Booth charges $179,952, $6,304 and budgets $72,258. For a person earning $90,000 today, the totals after summer internship pay are $402,342 and $386,014. The class of 2025 reported a median base salary of $185,000 at Wharton and $175,000 at Chicago Booth, which gives paybacks of 3.9 years and 4.1 years and ten-year values of $312,208 and $260,413. In our whole-class ranking, Wharton is number 1 of 40 and Chicago Booth number 3 of 40. The classes differ more than the money: 13.4% of Wharton's graduates went into private equity against 5.3% at Chicago Booth, while 36.7% of Chicago Booth's class went into consulting against 28.2%.
Near twins on cost
Wharton and Chicago Booth charge tuition within $4,012 of each other: $175,940 and $179,952. Fees and living budgets move the gap. Wharton adds $10,076 of university fees and a living budget of $84,866 for two years; Chicago Booth adds $6,304 and $72,258. Both programs last 21 months, so a $90,000 earner gives up $157,500 at either. The summer internship gives back $26,040 at Wharton and $30,000 at Chicago Booth, at the medians each school reports, for 2.5 months.
Add it up and the totals are $402,342 and $386,014. Wharton reports $185,000 as its median base salary, Chicago Booth $175,000: the $10,000 difference does most of the work in separating the paybacks, 3.9 years and 4.1 years, and the ten-year values, $312,208 and $260,413.
Wharton or Chicago Booth: the faster payback for you
Higher 10-year value
Wharton
| Wharton payback | 3.9 years |
| Chicago Booth payback | 4.1 years |
| Wharton 10-year NPV | $312,208 |
| Chicago Booth 10-year NPV | $260,413 |
Private equity in Philadelphia, consulting in Chicago
Both schools send about a third of their class or more into finance: 38.2% at Wharton, 31.6% at Chicago Booth. Inside finance, the split differs. Wharton places 14.2% in investment banking and 13.4% in private equity, at a median of $200,000. Chicago Booth places 8.3% in banking and 5.3% in private equity at $175,000. In our rankings, Wharton is 2 of 10 for private equity and 4 of 12 for banking, Chicago Booth 5 of 10 and 1 of 12: Chicago Booth's smaller banking share still ranks higher once salary and ten-year value enter the score.
Consulting goes the other way. Chicago Booth sends 36.7% of its class into consulting against 28.2% at Wharton, at the same $190,000 median, which puts Chicago Booth at 4 of 38 in our consulting ranking against 11 of 38. Technology is a minority path at both, 15.3% and 14.1%, and pays less than finance and consulting at each.
Chicago Booth: where the class went
Share of the class
36.7%
| Salary reported | $190,000 |
| Graduates, about | 233 |
| Payback with that salary | 3.5 years |
Reference person earning $90,000 before the MBA.
What each school discloses
The two reports follow the MBA CSEA standard but give different extras. Chicago Booth names its employers with the number of hires: Boston Consulting Group (52), McKinsey & Company (35) and Bain & Company (30) lead the list. Wharton publishes no such list in the documents we read. Wharton gives the first and third quartiles of base salary, $165,000 to $192,000, which Chicago Booth does not. The signing bonus is $30,000 for 48% of the class at Wharton and $30,000 for 65% of the class at Chicago Booth. Even the admissions test is reported differently: Wharton gives an average GMAT of 735, Chicago Booth a median of 740, two measures that cannot be set side by side without that note.
Who should pick which
Pick Wharton for private equity, or for the larger class of 888, and accept the slightly higher bill. For banking, the two are close: Wharton places more people, Chicago Booth scores higher in our ranking. Pick Chicago Booth for strategy consulting, where its pipeline into the large firms is documented hire by hire, or for a class that is 37% international against 26% at Wharton. On money the two are close enough that a scholarship from either one should weigh more than the gap in the table.